Dillip Kumar Das

• PhD
• Professor (Associate) at University of KwaZulu-Natal

Road infrastructure management is an extremely important task of traffic engineering. For the purpose of efficient management, it is necessary to determine the efficiency of the traffic flow through PAE 85%, AADT and other exploitation parameters on the one hand, and the number of different types of traffic accidents on the other. In this paper, a...

The construction industry, as one of the most complex sectors, depends on using wasted and recycled materials, timely decision-making, and adequate execution of all activities in supply chains. This paper presents tests of mixtures for cold in-place recycling where existing material is used. In this research, we used cement and bitumen emulsion as...

Some of the most important challenges in the city regions of Africa are related to food, energy, water, and nutrients. To meet these challenges, arguments have emerged that cities should become regenerative, resource-efficient and arrest the decline of ecosystems. Therefore, a case study was performed by considering the linkage between Lake Chivero...

Developing a responsive pavement-management infrastructure system is of paramount importance, accentuated by the quest for sustainability through adoption of the Road Traffic Management System. Technological advances have been witnessed in developed countries concerning the development of smart, sustainable transportation infrastructure. However, t...

Identification of key indicators that cause safety challenges and vulnerable roads is crucial for improving traffic safety. This paper, therefore, entails to the development of a novel multiphase multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) model to evaluate the vulnerability of urban roads for traffic safety. This was conducted by using data from 17 impor...

Attainment of competency is crucial for civil engineering students to solve socio-economic and environmental challenges and contribute to the development of a sustainable society by using engineering principles. Consequently, competency has become the measure of engineering graduates for which deep learning is essential. Constructive alignment has...

Empirical evidence shows that design-related challenges influence delay in building projects in India. Based on case studies of building projects from the capital region of Odisha Province of India, the factors relating to consultants and design have been identified and policy interventions were compiled to reduce design linked delay. A survey meth...

Purpose Arguments for the design of sustainable university buildings have emerged in South Africa. Energy being a major determinant of the sustainability of buildings, the purpose of this study was to examine the influence of various building and indoor environmental parameters on the energy performance of university buildings in South Africa. Des...

Purpose The built environment is well known for carbon emission and its impact especially as it pertains to existing buildings. This has culminated in an increasing need for a retrofit of such buildings. This study details the development of an artefact for improving the delivery of energy retrofit projects therein to curb these impacts. Design/me...

The decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method is one of the most significant multi-criteria techniques for defining the relationships among criteria and for defining the weight coefficients of criteria. Since multi-criteria models are very often used in management and decision-making under conditions of uncertainty, the fuzzy...

In this paper, a new fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making model for traffic risk assessment was developed. A part of a main road network of 7.4 km with a total of 38 Sections was analyzed with the aim of determining the degree of risk on them. For that purpose, a fuzzy Measurement Alternatives and Ranking according to the COmpromise Solution (fuzzy...

Growing car ownership and congestion are a threat to transportation sustainability in urban areas globally. Cities in the developing world have not been spared from the congestion problems due to the influx of vehicles and the subsequent increase in private vehicle ownership. Congestion in developing countries is also associated with limited road i...

The information technology (IT) industry has come to the forefront for economic development of several cities in developing countries such as India and China. Looking at the success of the IT industry in these countries, an argument has emerged that development of such industry in South African cities can revitalize their economy. Therefore, the st...

Sustainable development is one of the most important preconditions for preserving resources and balanced functioning of a complete supply chain in different areas. Taking into account the complexity of sustainable development and a supply chain, different decisions have to be made day-to-day, requiring the consideration of different parameters. One...

Cities are considered as engines of economic growth. Enterprising activities in the cities have emerged as the backbone of the economy of cities across the globe. Efforts have been made in many countries to build or transform cities to reinforce entrepreneurship and in the process develop enterprising cities. In the wake of arguments for building e...

The application of information technology in all areas represents a significant facilitation of all business processes and activities. A competitive business system is hardly imaginable without adequate information technology. Therefore, this paper evaluates the conditions for the implementation of barcode technology in a warehouse system of a comp...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a model for operationalizing the integrated use of lean and sustainability concepts for infrastructure delivery. This model is premised on the need for the attainment of a sustainable built environment through efficient infrastructure delivery. Design/methodology/approach A case study research desi...

Indian cities seem to be in transition regardless of the various sustainability challenges they have experienced in recent years. Globalization, market economy, and technological developments have brought economic, social and infrastructural advantages. However, population growth, proliferation of urban functions, insurmountable increase in size of...

Non-value adding activities that are otherwise called ‘waste’ in the lean terms have continue to hinder efficient project delivery in the construction industry. As such, the types of waste and their impact are subject of many studies. However, much have not been done regarding waste in the structural design process (SDP). This paper reports on an o...

Underutilisation of public parks in the residential areas of South African cities is a challenge. Although accessibility, environmental and social factors are argued to be some of the challenges for the utilisation of parks, the challenges of accessibility – particularly in the residential areas of cities are least explored. This study examined the...

Public parks are integral elements of residential areas of cities. It is well established that public parks have a positive influence on the social and physical health of the people who have access to them. The public parks despite being seemingly planned according to urban planning guidelines and are located appropriately in the neighbourhoods of...

This paper explores the concept of environmental justice (EJ) in solid waste management (SWM) in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It evaluates the extent to which EJ occurs in SWM and discusses the factors accounting for this state of affairs. The paper examines the relevant theoretical framework(s) and mechanisms that would facili...

Creativity has been a major key word in the city planning and urban marketing policies all over the world. Arguably, it ensures an image that can ensue marketable branding of a city. Thus, a creative city has major socioeconomic implications. However, the question remains how a creative environment in a city can be engendered and an attractive imag...

The spatial system dynamics model (SSDM) of sugarcane industrial ecosystem presented in this paper is towards an integrated approach to simulate a bio refinery system suggesting directions for bagasse and trash-derived electricity generation. The model unpacks the complexity in bio-derived energy generation across the conversion pathways of the sys...

Public parks and open recreational facilities are essential elements of healthy modern cities. The importance of the public parks in urban residential areas is uncontested from the health and environment point of view. Although, public parks are integral parts of the urban residential areas in most of the cities in South Africa, they are observed t...

Most of Indian cities are in transition and are facing spatial development challenges. On one hand, the cities are developing new suburban areas with relatively better-built infrastructure and services; while on the other hand, the once primary and bustling central areas are succumbing to awful degeneration. To address the later scenarios, the gove...

Most of Indian cities are in transition and are facing spatial development challenges. On one hand, the cities are developing new suburban areas with relatively better-built infrastructure and services; while on the other hand, the once primary and bustling central areas are succumbing to awful degeneration. To address the later scenarios, the gove...

Most of Indian cities are in transition and are facing spatial development challenges. On one hand, the cities are developing new suburban areas with relatively better-built infrastructure and services; while on the other hand, the once primary and bustling central areas are succumbing to awful degeneration. To address the later scenarios, the gove...

Traffic safety in the suburban roads of South African cities is a major challenge. Although many studies have explored the contributing factors, the influence of urban factors such as land use, urban form, urban pattern, accessibility and density on the occurrence of traffic crashes have been least explored. This investigation examined the influenc...

Central areas depict distinct images of cities. Increasingly, it is seen that the significance of the designated central areas in many cities across the world has been relegated because of the up market developments in other areas of the cities, particularly in developing countries like South Africa. However, central areas could still become the ne...

Sustainable road transportation has become a challenge particularly in the developing countries. Literature suggests that the ability of the transport system to respond to the mobility needs of people and goods is hampered by a continuous increase in traffic demand as a result of higher levels of urbanization, population growth, changes in populati...

Safer and reliable infrastructure in cities is a necessity for urban dwellers. The question is whether conventional planning practices would provide solutions before urban roads are labelled as unmanageable sources of fatalities, especially in developing economies. This paper presents how smart mobility can be achieved. Using Bloemfontein in South...

To handle rapid urbanization, there is need to find new ways to manage complexity, increase efficiency, reduce expenses, and improve quality of life. The new ways are rooted in the concept of 'smart city'. The concept theorize that emerging technologies would shape urban environments in varying ways that would include but not limited to the economy...

The emergence of Information Technology (IT) is increasingly influencing the socio-economic and physical landscape of cities. It has also resulted in development of predominantly IT based industrial cities. These cities have the opportunities and challenges with respect to the development of their socio- economic, infrastructural and environmental...

Infrastructure is highly imperative for tourism development of a tourism resource rich region, which requires plausible planning and management for the development of such infrastructure. In this article, an attempt was made to comprehend the tourism development of a region by considering the influence of three most essential infrastructures, such...

Infrastructure is highly imperative for tourism development of a tourism resource rich region, which requires plausible planning and management for the development of such infrastructure. In this article, an attempt was made to comprehend the tourism development of a region by considering the influence of three most essential infrastructures, such...